Valentine’s Day Crafts

Have you finished your childrens’ Valentine’s Day cards for school yet? What I meant to say was: have your children finished their Valentine’s Day cards?

If you are like me and just realized that this past weekend would have been an excellent time to complete them, but you never got around to something that productive, the ideas below look like a fun way to spend the afternoon! Thanks to FamilyFun magazine for providing these creative Valentine options.

1. Made of two Hershey’s Kisses and a heart-shaped set of ears, these tiny critters are almost too cute to eat.

Materials:

Directions:

Print the ear and foot templates on cardstock and cut out the shapes. Remove the paper flags from two Hershey’s Kisses. Fold the feet where shown on the template, then use tacky glue to sandwhich the feet and ears between the Kisses. Glue a 4-inch length of gray yarn to the underside of the back kiss. Add googly eyes. Attach the mouse a cheese-shaped piece of card stock with a glue dot, then write a note.

Suggested messages: Mice to Know You! You’re Really Mice!

2. M&M’s serve as a sweet stand-in for X’s and O’s in this packaged card-and-game combo. (For a sugar-free version, use buttons instead of candy).

Materials:

M&M’s

Card stock

Markers

Scissors

Clear treat bags

Tape

Directions:

Trim card stock into a 4- by 6-inch rectangle. Use a marker to draw a tic-tac-toe board in the center and add a message at the top, such as “U R A winner” or “I’m game to be your friend!” Slide the card into a 4- by 9-inch clear treat bag (available at craft stores). Add several M&M’s, providing an equal number of two colors. Fold the top of the bag behind the card and seal it with tape.

3. Pretty paper and glue dots are all you need to make a heartwarming wreath to hang anywhere that needs a little love.

Materials:

Double-sided scrapbook paper

Scissors

Glue

Ribbon

Directions:

Cut a sheet of double-sided scrapbook paper (ours is a 12 inch square) into 1-inch-wide strips. Make five hearts as follows: fold a paper strip in half, sandwiching two glue dots about an inch down from the fold to create the top of the heart. Bend the loose ends away from the center and use two more dots to join them at the point. Next, make the two hearts that anchor the hanging ribbon. Sandwich one end of a 12-inch-long ribbon in the center fold of one heart, then form the heart’s point. Secure the other end of the ribbon in a second heart. Use glue dots to adhere the sides of the seven hearts in a circle, as shown.